If at any point you have questions, definitely ask me for help. That's what I'm here for!

**IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS PROJECT DOES NOT INVOLVE INSTRUCTION FOR CHILDREN WHOSE NATIVE LANGUAGE IS NOT ENGLISH. THE TWO RELEVANT GROUPS ARE CHILDREN WHOSE NATIVE LANGUAGE IS STANDARD ENGLISH  AND CHILDREN WHOSE NATIVE LANGUAGE IS NONSTANDARD ENGLISH. **

*Print this out and use it as a checklist; take it with you to the library or wherever you look at your materials.*

These instructions have three parts:
1) Detailed project instructions.
2) Formatting instructions. You will lose points if you do not follow these instructions.
3) Editing/Proofreading instructions. You will lose points if you do not follow these instructions.

> MATERIAL TO EXAMINE:

• Permitted grades: 5-8.
• Permitted publishers: Houghton-Mifflin (pronounced 'hoe-ton'); Macmillan/McGraw-Hill; Harcourt; SRA McGraw-Hill; or Holt.
• The primary material for grammar may be a handbook devoted to grammar and other writing skills. This may be a smallish hardback book. If you find one of these, it will be your primary object of evaluation. Take time to scan along the teaching materials arrayed along the shelves or in the big box.
• Look also at one Teacher's Annotated Edition (usually with a coil binder) and a Practice Book (8.5 x 11 paperback). The Index might lead you to lessons about grammar and specific grammar topics, such as pronouns, verbs, etc.

> TASKS:

PART I:  Describe briefly the materials you examined (e.g., grammar/writing manual, TAE, practice book). This should not take more than a page. Then, briefly describe the publisher's approach to grammar instruction: Is it a correctionist, one-right-way approach? Are different styles or dialects acknowledged at all? If they are, are they characterized as mistakes, or as appropriate to other than school/professional situations? MOST IMPORTANT: Does the publisher's approach conform to recommendations made in class, especially with regard to speakers of nonstandard English? Give this information in general terms; reserve details for following sections. This whole section can be very short -- less than three pages.

PART II To illustrate the publisher's approach, choose TWO specific grammar topics from the list below. For each topic:

• Describe or quote the explanation the materials give for the topic. How do they use examples to illustrate the explanation -- as "right/wrong," or in a different way? What kinds of activities are used to practice the topic? Look in the TAE and Practice Book for examples as well as the handbook.  IMPORANT: To what degree would a child need metalinguistic knowledge to perform correctly on the activity? Would the answer come naturally to both a native speaker of standard English and a native speaker of nonstandard English?
• For each of your grammar points, include ONE photocopy of an explanation with activity, or an exercise/worksheet (two total). Use these samples to illustrate the publisher's treatment of grammar instruction. Attach these in the text of the paper after the relevant section, not at the end of the paper. THESE DO NOT CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR PAGE COUNT.

PART III Lastly, having determined the publisher's approach, return to the question of whether or not the materials conform to recommendations made in class.

• First, defend the linguist's position on dialect equality by referring to course readings and course lectures: what is the basis in linguistic science for dialect equality?
• Second, consider whether the publisher's approach creates an equal "playing field" for all children. Do the materials create an unfair advantage for speakers of standard English and a disadvantage for speakers of nonstandard English? Describe the likely outcomes of the materials' style of instruction for these two groups of children. Be very specific on this point; cite actual examples from class readings.
• Weave your conclusion into this discussion.
• You MUST cite our class readings more than just a few times.
• THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF YOUR PAPER. If your paper does not evaluate the materials in this way, or in sufficient detail, it will not receive a grade above D.

PART IV Reference list. List only sources that you actually cite in the text, including the materials you examine. You MUST cite our class readings!! Use a recognized format: MLA or APA. If you don't know what this means, many college writing manuals exist which can provide help; online resources include http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/ and http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/.

> GRAMMAR POINTS: Choose two of these.

• Double negation (e.g., "I don't have none") (often under 'adverbs') (This feature is typical of most nonstandard dialects of English.)
• Reflexive pronoun 'hisself' (under 'pronouns' or 'reflexive pronouns' ('Hisself' is found in several nonstandard dialects in America.)
• Subject/verb agreement, in verbs 'have' and 'be' and/or in verbs in general (This varies greatly across different dialects of English; examples are "She don't visit us often" and "You is not comin' into my house").
• 'Confusing verbs' or irregular verbs -- past tense forms of irregular verbs that vary from standard English, as in "I seen him at the convenience store," "Mama come home late last night," etc.
  

> FORMATTING INSTRUCTIONS     IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW THE FORMATTING INSTRUCTIONS, YOU WILL DEFINITELY LOSE POINTS!  If there is something about formatting that you don't know how do, ask a friend, consult your word processors' HELP function, or ask me. I'm a Mac user, but I'll do my best to help PC users.

PRINT THIS OUT AND USE IT AS A CHECKLIST:

• _____  No cover page or report cover. IDENTIFY the publisher, GRADE LEVEL, and title of the materials AT THE CENTER TOP OF THE FIRST PAGE. This can be your paper title. Your name, major, our course number, and the date you hand the paper in should be in the upper left-hand corner of page 1. It's OK to number page 1.
• _____ Black ink.
• _____  Length: 10-12 pages, excluding photocopies.
• Format: The paper must be
  • _____  typed
  • _____  double-spaced (not 1.5; check your line spacing)
  • _____  you MUST number typed pages, and not by hand (photocopies may be left numberless)
  • _____ The only font I will accept is a 12-pt. Times font: Times, Times Roman or Times New Roman. If your paper is in a different font, I will hand it back to you to change the font and you will lose points.
  • _____ 1" or 1.25" margins all around.
  • If you do not know how to change these settings in your word processor, FIND OUT. Your paper will lose points if you do not conform to these requirements. Word processing programs such as Microsoft Word come with a Help  manual that gives decent instructions for most basic operations, such as setting margins, finding and replacing text, breaking to a  new page, etc. Take advantage of these.
• _____  Sections: Divide your paper into sections according to each part I-V above; do not make it one continuous essay. Put your subtitles in boldface; set them at the left margin (not centered). Skip ONE line (hit Return twice, then type) above and below the heading.
• _____  Do not skip a line between paragraphs within a section; indent paragraphs. Word processing programs allow you to set an indent for a single paragraph. It will continue to use that indent unless you format a paragraph in a different way (for instance, centering a long quotation). If you want to return to your normal indent, you have to once again format the next paragraph you start.
• _____ Watch out for very long paragraphs. A single paragraph should not take up half or more of a page. Break to a new paragraph and indent the new paragraph.
  
• _____  Avoid starting a new section at the very bottom of the page; if you have room only for a subtitle, break to a new page. Use the "Insert Page Break" command. Use your print preview feature (under "File" or "Print") to check pagination before you print out your final draft. In a word processor, a "manual page break" is one that you command the program to put in, instead of letting it decide where to break to a new page. Your print feature should also have a "preview" option that you can use to see exactly what the printed document will look like.
• _____  If you give examples of words in your discussion, italicize them, for example: "This activity directs students to build a word web of words that relate to the sea, such as fish, wave, current, ocean, seaweed, voyage, etc."
  

> PROOFREADING AND EDITING At whatever level you eventually teach or write in your career, you will be expected to conform to the current standards for formal grammar, spelling, punctuation, paragraph formatting, etc. Expectations are particularly high for language arts and English teachers. College professors vary a great deal in their expectations in this regard, but the state standards for both teachers and schoolchildren expect full compliance. I also expect full compliance.

• Use the spell-check function of your word processor. However, do not follow its instructions regarding hyphens ( - ). If you are unsure of a hyphen, check a dictionary. Do not use the grammar checker; 50% of its recommendations are likely to be wrong.
  
• Consult my  Editing Tips page for help with typical grammar, word choice, and punctuation problems. If I find the problems described on the Editing Tips page in your papers, you will definitely lose points.  Concentrate on the following:
  • Hyphen vs. dash
  • Punctuation around citations of works you are referring to.
  • Punctuation around however.
  • Use of colon (:), not semicolon (;) before a list.
  • Overuse of the words within and prevalent. In 9 out of 10 cases, in serves the purpose; synonyms for prevalent include common, frequent, (is/are) found throughout ... , widespread, etc.
  • APOSTROPHES. Use them correctly.
  • The by problem: see the first item under "Grammar Snafus."
  • (Not on Editing Tips page yet) Commas and quotation marks. You DO NOT NEED a comma every time you use quotation marks. Commas are needed ONLY when the quotation follows a quoting verb, such as say, write. Even in the case of these verbs, if they are followed by that, no comma is needed after that. For example: On p. 62, Rubba writes that "correcting young children's language is, nine times out of ten, a waste of time."
  • GET STARTED LOOKING AT THESE AND PRACTICING THEM NOW. Your Reading Question responses are a great practice opportunity; you will notice that I make corrections on them (these don't count against your grade for the assignment, however).
• More guidance is available in usage guides such as the MLA style manual and numerous college writing manuals, and the Purdue sites listed above. You can also come to me or send a short e-mail if you have a question.
• Take advantage of our WRITING LAB, Bldg. 10 room 130, 756-6032. Tutors are there to help you remedy problems (NOT edit or proofread your paper). If you want their help, make an appointment, and go there with a draft with enough time to make revisions they recommend. The Writing Lab is there to help you and you will be welcome there! Their web address is http://www.calpoly.edu/~wrtskils/writlab/. Tutors from the Writing Lab are now holding hours in the Library, room 202B, Monday - Thursday - 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. Your Reading Question responses give you a great opportunity to look over a short text with a tutor.